Advisor to Azerbaijan�s vice president Elchin Amirbayov underlines the importance of good relations between his country and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

�For us, it is important that Iran, which is an important neighbor in terms of size and history, remains a good neighbor,� i24NEWS reported the senior Azerbaijani official as saying on Tuesday.

Amirbayov said that some 20 to 30 million Iranians are of Azeri origins that make decent relations between Baku and Tehran of utmost importance despite differing outlooks, according to the news channel.

�The most important thing is to remain calm, to provide stability in the region,� the Azerbaijani official told the channel.

On Monday, Azerbaijan�s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ayhan Hajizadeh said that his country �has always been interested in developing good-neighborly relations with all neighboring countries, including Iran.�

He made the comment following phone talks between the foreign ministers of Iran and Azerbaijan over the past few days.

Azerbaijan�s relations with Iran were strained in January following an attack on the country�s embassy in Tehran.

Azerbaijan closed its diplomatic mission following the incident�and evacuated staff over what it called a �terrorist act,� with President Ilham Aliyev blaming it on the �Iranian establishment.�

This is while an initial investigation pointed to �personal and family-related problems��as the motive of the assailant.

Azerbaijan said on Thursday it has declared four Iranian embassy employees persona non grata, claiming the diplomats conducted "provocative actions" in the latest deterioration of relations between the two neighbors.

The move came hours after Baku said it arrested six men, who it claimed were linked to Iranian secret services and were plotting a coup in the Caspian nation.

By IRNA.